New High Court judge appointed in Auckland

Justice Neil Campbell QC began full-time practice as a barrister in 2008

New High Court judge appointed in Auckland
Neil Campbell

A new High Court judge has been appointed to sit in Auckland, Attorney-General David Parker announced on Tuesday.

Neil Campbell began his legal career with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in 1991. He received his law degree from the University of Auckland in 1992, and was admitted to the bar that same year.

He stayed with the firm for two years before relocating to the UK, where he studied for his LLM (First) at the University of Cambridge and recorded a stint as a lecturer at the University of Nottingham. In 1995, he came back to New Zealand, lecturing at his alma mater.

Campbell became an associate professor within the faculty of law, and in 1998, he began practicing part-time at the bar in addition to his academic duties. A decade later, he proceeded to become a full-time barrister.

Throughout his career, his work has appeared in the Cambridge Law Journal, Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, the Insurance Law Journal and the New Zealand Law Review. He has also contributed to publications on company and land law.

Campbell received the Queen’s Counsel distinction in 2013.

He has worked with Shortland Chambers, where he advised clients on civil and commercial disputes. He specialises in appellate work, insurance law, company law, equity, the interpretation of contracts and other documents, remedies, vendor and purchaser, commercial leases, unit titles, and easements and covenants.

He has appeared before appellate courts and the High Court.

Campbell’s ascension comes alongside Parker’s announcement regarding the appointment of High Court Judge Robert Andrew Dobson to acting judge of the High Court following his retirement on 4 July. Dobson will serve a 12-month term in his new position effective 5 July.